Journal 6

Trauma and Memory Brain in a Search for the Living Past written by Peter Levine is a fascinating book that explains the fluidity of memories combined with the different ways in which they are stored. I enjoy that it is well written incorporating science in an easy to read manner. He highlights the reconstructive process stating that it is continuously adding, deleting, rearranging, and updating information. Understanding that memory is not concrete is extremely important to a counselor. Comprehending that our mood at the time of the event effects how the memory is stored increases our understanding of our clients when they relay details of the past. Helpful memories are ones we learn from and move on. Ordinary memories change over time. Traumatic memories are static. Realizing that there are explicit (conscious) and implicit (unconscious) memories were valuable because we must remember that the body knows what happened even if the client cannot remember the event consciously. This will help us to understand why a client may be reacting abnormally to certain situations. It allows us to hypothesis are they reacting to smells, touch, visual or sounds. We can then ask the client questions that may assist them to clarify. When you feel anxiety what do you notice? Is there a smell? What does the environment look like? Is there …show more content…
Often, we are told to suppress or ignore our emotions in American society. This can be harmful. Emotions are helpful to facilitate healing. They communicate our needs. People who have experienced trauma may have a condition called alexithymia. The inability to connect with name and communicate emotions. Recognizing this is beneficial because it may create difficulties in relationships with others. In relationship counseling, this will be extremely helpful because a partner may feel unloved when emotions are not